Here and Now (14 page)

“Come over tonight?” Flynn asked over the phone.

“To your place?” I’d never been there before.

“Where else?” he asked sarcastically. “The park?”

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “What are we going to do over there?”

“I’m going to cook you dinner.”

“You know how to cook?”

“I know how to do a lot of things.” I could actually hear him
wink over the phone.

“You just winked, didn’t you?”

“Damn, how’d you know?”

“I know my boyfriend pretty well.”

“So, come over. You like seafood, right?”

“I eat anything.”

“You want me to pick you up?”

“No, I can manage.”

“Are you sure?” he pressed.

“Flynn, I can take care of myself. What’s your address?”

“I’ll text it to you.”

“K.”

“See you soon.” He hung up.

I changed into a jeans and a t-shirt then opened the door. Hanging on the back was a casual sundress. It was dark blue with red and pink flowers. It was beautiful. It was exactly something I would buy if I could afford it. There was a note.

I got it at Target, so don’t freak out about the money.

Your squeeze,

Flynn

I smiled after I read the note. He always did the sweetest things that I never expected. He went above and beyond to make me happy. He was definitely a keeper. I changed in
to the dress and loved that it fit me perfectly. He knew my measurements well. I liked the dark color because it contrasted against my pale skin and light hair. I smirked then left the apartment, walking a few blocks to his place.

When I realized I was heading to West Park Central, my heart started to accelerate. I knew he was well off, but just how rich was he? I couldn’t even afford to walk on the sidewalk near these buildings, and he lived in one of them?

I reached the building then double-checked the address. Shit, he did live here. I walked inside then saw the attendant. After he looked me up and down, he knew I didn’t belong there.

“Can I help you with directions, miss?” he asked.

Wow, I stuck out like a sore thumb. “I’m here to see Flynn Robbins.”

“One moment, please.”

“Okay…”

He made the call behind his desk then hung up. “Take the elevators to the fifth floor.”

“Thank you.” I got inside then hit the button. When the doors closed, I breathed a sigh of relief. When I got this cute dress, I felt like I won the lottery. Being in this building made me realize how insignificant I was in terms of the economy.

The doors opened and I reached the apartment. I took a deep breath and knocked.

The door flew open, and Flynn grabbed me, giving me a hard kiss.

I melted as soon as we touched, feeling the burn of his lips.

He pulled away then squeezed my hips. “You look hot.”

“Thanks.” His bluntness made my cheeks redden at times.

“I’m glad you wore it—and didn’t make a big deal about it.”

“Flynn, you don’t have to buy me anything. I like spending time with you for you, not your money.”

“I know.” He rubbed his nose against mine then pulled me inside. “Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”

I came
inside then stilled at his expansive apartment. The floor-to-ceiling windows had a breathtaking view of the city. It was expansive and wide, making his living room bigger than my entire apartment.

The kitchen was steaming with dinner. I smelled the fresh veggies and potatoes in the air. I sauntered to the living room and put my purse down. I noticed the pictures he had on his grand piano. It
looks]ed like him and his parents. I suddenly realized I didn’t know a lot about him.

Flynn washed his hands then placed the food on the table. A bottle of wine accompanied it. He pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit down. I took a seat and he pushed my chair in.

He sat across from me then extended his hands. “Dig in.”

I smiled. “Everything looks…wow.” The fish on my plate was charbroiled, perfect lines going across the meat. The veggies were perfectly placed on my plate, and the smell was delicious.

“Thank you.” He poured the wine then dug into his food.

I picked up my fork and took a bite. “This is really good.”

“You sound surprised,” he teased.

“I am,” I said honestly. “I’ll have to come over here more often.”

“You should,” he said seriously.

We ate together quietly, our silverware tapping against our plates. I sipped the wine and thought that was just as amazing as the food.

“Can I ask you some personal questions?” I asked.

“Go ahead. Got nothing to hide.” He seemed genuine.

“Are you an only child?”

“No. I have an older brother.”

“Are you close?”

“We
see each other during the holidays or when we run into each other—that’s about it.”

“So, no, not really?”

He shrugged. “He’s busy.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s an actor.”

Oh. I guess that made sense. “Would I see him in anything?”

“He’s actually pretty famous. Micah Robbins.”

I knew exactly who he was. He won an Oscar last year, and he’d been on a successful TV show for five years. “Wow. I know exactly who he is.”

“So, when we don’t each other often I’m not offended. I know he’s busy.”

“That’s really cool.”

“He loves his job but he hates being famous—which is why I’m a writer.”

“I feel bad for you,” I blurted.

“Me? Why?”

“How do you know girls stick around for you or for your money and connections?”

He gave me a serious look. “Hazel, I can tell.”

“You can?”

“Believe me, I’ve used it to my advantage to get laid many times. But I’ve always pushed away girls I actually liked when I realized they were just sticking around for the wonderful things I could do for them.” He didn’t seem bitter, just honest. I liked that about him. He never sugarcoated things. If he said he used girls just to get laid, he was up front about it. I never wondered if he was telling me a line to trick me. He took a few bites then looked at me. “I can tell it doesn’t make a difference to you.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Another reason why I liked you. All the girls threw themselves at me but you couldn’t care less. I knew you were definitely worth my time.”

“And you’ve been more than worth my time. Sometimes I can’t believe this is really happening.”

He smiled at me. “I’m a dream to you?”

“A fantasy, actually.”

“I like that.” He finished his plate then wiped his napkin. “I like that a lot.”

“You’ve just been…so wonderful to me. Just when I lost my faith in men you proved me wrong.”

“Well, I love you.” He said it so casually, like he already said it a million times.

My eyes widened at his words. I hadn’t expected him to say those words. But I could tell he meant them.

“But you already knew that…”

A part of me suspected it. “Flynn…I love you too.”

He looked into my eyes for a long time. “And I knew that too.”

His heated look turned into a slight grin. “And the director has fallen in love with his muse…”

That made my cheeks blush.

We were both finished with dinner, so Flynn took the plates and left them in the sink. I helped him, but Flynn wouldn’t let me wash them. “It can wait.” He took our wine into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Now that we confessed our feelings for each other, I expected something to happen tonight. When I thought about it, it excited me and scared me at the same time. But I knew it was something I wanted to do. I hadn’t had sex in over a year, and I was looking forward to being with Flynn. If he made love as well as he kissed, I knew I was in for a treat.

Flynn sipped his wine and rested his hand on my thigh. “What else do you want to know?”

I just realized I only got one question in. “When did you know you wanted to be a writer?”

“Since I was little. My dad guided me into it. He’s been my teacher.”

“Are you close with your parents?”

“Very,” he said. “My dad is my closest friend.”

My eyes softened. “That’s sweet.”

“When he’s not being a douche.”

I laughed. “That sounded so forced.”

He smirked. “Yeah, I love that old man.”

“What else have you written?”

“I was the screenplay writer for a few shows, and I did a few indie films. But I do cinematography and editing too. I’m all over the place,” he said with a laugh.

“It must be nice having a famous dad.”

“It definitely has its perks. Now can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” I didn’t think I was that interesting, and there’s nothing I hadn’t told him already.

“Something happen between you and Cortland?”

I wasn’t expecting that. “What? Like, today?”

“Just in general. If you didn’t date, did you fool around or something?”

“No.”

“So…nothing happened between you?
At all? Because, it just seems like something was there. I can’t explain his behavior in any other way.”

The last thing I expected to discuss was Cortland. “Well, we were set up on a blind date. I wasn’t ready to date and neither was he. Instead, we became friends—really good friends. We got each other through all the heartache we felt, and a result, he became my best friend. I started to have feelings for him along the way, but he told
me he couldn’t reciprocate that affection because he was still hooked on Monnique. I accepted that and didn’t bring it up again. Then he got back together with her and the rest is history.”

He nodded then sipped his wine. “He never had feelings for you?”

“No.”

“Then why is he so protective of you?”

I shrugged. “He just knows I’ve been through a lot.”

He stared out the window for a long time. “I don’t believe that. I think there’s something else there—on his part.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” He better not be.

“No,” he said immediately. “I just think he won’t admit
it or he’s in denial about it.”

“Why?”

“Just something he said to me…”

“What did he say?” Flynn still hadn’t told me.

“That if I ever did a single thing to hurt you, he would hunt me down and beat the shit out of me until I could barely breathe. Then he would come after every person I’ve ever cared about.”

My eyes widened. “Damn…gangster status.”

He chuckled. “You didn’t see his face. I think he meant it.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, Flynn. Like I said, he’s just protective.”

“I have a lot of girlfriends I care about, but I would never do that for any of them. I’m just saying…”

I couldn’t see Cortl
and having feelings for me. He’d always been so platonic with me, strictly friendly. And he always told me how much he loved Monnique. I knew Flynn would never understand that. But that was okay. “He’s in love with his girlfriend. I can assure you, he doesn’t think of me that way.”

“Why did they break up then?”

“It’s a long story. She was basically upset he slept with someone long before they even met.”

Flynn raised an eyebrow. “That sounds pretty lame to me.”

“It was,” I said. “I won’t disagree with that. When we had lunch earlier today, he opened up to me about the relationship. He’s struggling with it, chasing down the relationship they used to have. I think he’s starting to realize that he’s forcing this relationship to happen. He’s too afraid to let go.”

“Is he going to break it off?”

“I have no idea. That was all he said. And I don’t want to ask because I don’t want to influence him either way. He has to make this decision on his own.”

“Maybe it’s not working because he’s secretly in love with you.”

I was getting sick of this. “Flynn, Cortland is my best friend in the whole world. There’s nothing I wouldn’t tell him and there’s nothing he wouldn’t tell me. If he had feelings for me, I would know. I even offered to have a meaningless physical relationship with him and he still said no. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I didn’t mean to make you upset,” he said quickly. “I’m just throwing that out there.”

“Are you worried I have feelings for him?”

“No.
” He moved his hand up my thigh. “And after tonight, I’ll make sure you don’t ever think about anyone but me.”

That made my spine shiver. I knew Flynn would make good on his word.